Inslee names chief of staff

Inslee made the announcement this morning that Heuschel, who was among a trio picked to head his transition team, will go with him to Olympia next year.

Education will be one of the major issues facing the state in 2013. State government is under orders from the Supreme Court to improve public education so that it can meet its constitutional mandate that the education of its children is the state's paramount duty. According to some estimates, that could mean spending more than $1 billion more on schools in the 2013-15 budget, and even more in budget periods after that.

The state must also develop a system for establishing charter schools with in its public school system under an initiative approved this month by voters.